Cut a hole in my house on purpose

[bdhsfz6]

I hope their fire insurance is paid up. This is beyond stupid, a chimney fire that hot could conceivably crack the liner, let alone the possibility of sparks igniting something nearby.

Am I correct in assuming this platform is strictly to get onto the roof? I didn't see the chimney, and it seemed quite a ways from the antenna. Do you have a separate one to stand on when you're actually working up there?

You're fortunate in having a roof with a relatively shallow pitch. Mine is ~50°, way too steep for me. Other than a tv antenna that hasn't worked since the digital conversion there's no real reason for me to get up on mine. The antenna can stay there.
Maybe 5 years ago I had an old, unused chimney removed from my house. I hired it out, they used a bucket truck to work out of (plus one guy in the attic).

Yes, the platform is simply to provide a level space to transition from the ladder to the roof. The pitch is just 30 degrees so it isn't difficult to work while up there.

 

[mike0000]

It's also good to clean out the top cap or wind screen if you have one, since that will build up with creosote too. I hit the inside of the screen with a wire brush and knock off a good amount of deposits that would otherwise restrict flow.

That’s a good point, I just cleaned my chimney a few weeks ago. I haven’t considered that I should also clean up the cap.
I‘ll have to remember to do that in the future.
Thanks,

Mike

 

[grsthegreat]

I have 2 caps. One has 1/4” mesh i use during spring thru fall, the winter cap has no screen in it. I got tired of going up and cleaning it with 4 feet of snow on roof. This has worked out great for years. I swap out caps in spring when i go up to clean out chimney. The mesh keeps birds and bats out. Running fireplace does this during the winter months.